The 112 Suomi application, developed by Digia, enables the automatic delivery of the caller's location information to the emergency service dispatcher. The application, created together with the Emergency Response Centre Administration, may be downloaded for free on Android phones and iPhone and it will soon be released also for Windows phones. Emergency Response Centre Administration recommends downloading the application to all smartphones.

The new application is the result of an extensive cooperation, as Digia has operated as the Emergency Response Centre Administration's system supplier for nearly ten years.

”We are happy and proud to be able to present an application that makes the everyday life of Finnish people more secure in a very concrete way. This is an important milestone in the long cooperation between Digia and the Emergency Response Centre Administration”, says Sami Rantanen, the Head of Industry, Public sector, Digia.

The application is also important for the Emergency Response Centre Administration and the development of the Emergency Response Centre's services.

“The Emergency Response Centre Administration wishes to actively participate in the progress of technology. We are nowadays expected to be able to utilize technology that people carry on them, such as mobile devices that are equipped with increasingly extensive features, in order to respond to emergencies”, states Marko Nieminen, the Manager of Emergency Centre Services.

Geolocation process in emergencies becomes faster

The 112 application, developed by Digia, has been integrated to the systems of the Emergency Response Centre Administration, which enables the automatic delivery of the location information to the emergency service dispatcher. The application uses satellite geolocation, which is considerably more accurate than the previous emergency geolocation mechanisms.

“The accuracy of the current emergency geolocation systems is hundreds of metres, even kilometres outside of urban areas. With satellite-based geolocation, the caller may be located within even tens of metres.

When the accuracy of the emergency geolocation is specified from hundreds or even thousands of metres to tens of metres, it becomes possible to send help to the location from the nearest possible unit, and the target is known clearly. The processing of the calls also becomes faster.

“The application uses the same form of coordinates as the systems of the Emergency Response Centre Administration. When an information connection is not usable and the location information is not delivered automatically, the coordinates may be verified from the application and reported to the Emergency Response Centre worker vocally”, Nieminen states.

A free, easy-to-use application

“At Digia, our aim is to implement solutions that excel in quality and security and make the users' life easier. The application has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible", Sami Rantanen at Digia tells.

“After years of cooperation, Digia knows the Emergency Response Centre Administration's systems and methods of operation well. The Application has been designed with extensive cooperation between these parties, and the end result is a clear, easy-to-use application, which can be downloaded for free. We hope the application is used as extensively as possible”, Nieminen says.

The Emergency Response Centre Administration recommends downloading the application. You should familiarize yourself with the Application in advance and particularly help children and old people in its use.

“I suggest everybody adds its icon to their phone's start screen, so the application can be used quickly in an emergency situation”, Nieminen says.

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Digia's application, performed using Qt technology, operates platform-independently on Android phones and iPhone and it will soon be released for Windows phones. The application may be downloaded for free. Read more at www.digia.com/112suomi.

112 Suomi has been developed by Digia in 2015 and is owned by the company. It is a mobile application for geolocation of callers. Digia is a Finnish IT company, which delivers information systems to various security authorities, among others parties.

112 Suomi application has been integrated to the Emergency Response Centre Administration's systems. This allows the Emergency Response Centre worker to automatically be informed of the caller's location when an emergency call is made through the application.

The Phone only sends a geolocation signal when the user consciously allows this. An emergency call must thus always be made through the application.

The Application is free. It can be downloaded on Android phone and iPhone from an application store and it will soon be released for Windows phones.

The Emergency Response Centre Administration recommends downloading the application and instructing people in its use, particularly children and seniors.

Always call 112 when you suspect that somebody’s life, health, property or environment is threatened or in imminent danger.